From Marlene Cain:
I wanted to take the time to give a big heartfelt thank you to all those who assisted the Enforcement Division with meeting our EEOC contract this past Fiscal Year!
A special thank you to Anthony Lewis' Division to include Mariza, Charles, Gwen and Anthony for taking the time to receive EEOC cases, re-learn CRIS (with Renee Kenyon's assistance) and for settling and closing EEOC cases.
A big thank you to all Administrative Support Staff, CRMs, & Staff Attorneys (Michael Pelot, Alannah Buford-Kamerman, Valerie Barkley) for stepping up to the task of assisting with case closures and providing the needed support for those completing EEOC investigations. Thank you Sabrina Fomby, Kim Lucas, Alicia Powers, & Anshirley Martinez and Angie Hall.
We cannot thank the Intake Staff enough for initially taking all those EEOC complaints! We also would not have been as successful without Danita Wimbush and the record center staff for handling all the case closures and keeping track of the documents needed for EEOC! We could not have done so without all of you!
A special thank you to Kimberly Hall, Levita Shackelford, Jackie Debusschere, Vicki Levengood, Shawn Sanford, Jeannette Johnson, Brie Kissane, Matthew Dernovshek and Stephanie Lenneman for the constant support you provide and for your specialized assistance to staff during the EEOC case closure endeavor.
Thank you to the Housing Team and to ACRM Sharp for being team players by assisting with closing some EEOC case closures. The Housing team closed 31 cases from August 12, 2021 to September 30, 2021. Thank you for stepping up to the challenge!
We also cannot forget all those CRIs from the Hakim, Merriweather, Hunter and Garrett teams who produced extra cases to assist in meeting our EEOC contract. We want to say THANK YOU for planning and organizing your work to be able to exceed your case closure expectations. We had many CRIs who exceeded their case closure expectations and wanted you to know we see you and appreciate you! We also appreciate the Administrative Support staff who processed the closures and the CRMs who read all those extra cases.
Along with staff exceeding their case closure expectations we had two outstanding staff members I would like to take an opportunity to thank for going above and beyond in excellent performance. From Demetrius Hunter's team, Investigator Bobbie Curtis closed 57 cases from June through September 2021 and of those 42 were EEOC case closures and 15 were MDCR case closures. Bobbie over-exceeded her case closure expectations by 37 cases during a 4 month period.
During the same time period, David Jones closed 26 case closures of which 25 were EEOC case closures and 1 case was a MDCR case closure. David over-exceeded his case closures expectations by 10 cases during the same 4 month period.
To Bobbie and David, thank you for being leaders and for your excellent performance! Your hard work and professionalism is seen and appreciated. We admire both of your diligence and self-motivation which is a source of inspiration for all of us! We cannot forget to thank Demetrius Hunter for reviewing and approving all those cases plus his other team members cases. A special thank you to Administrative Support staff Anshirley Martinez for processing all the closures that were sent to the Record Center!
I look forward to continue working with you all to make next year's EEOC contract early! Yes, we can do this working together!
The Enforcement Division would like to share with everyone the great job that investigators have done with resolving cases. We want to congratulate all of you on a job well done!!
Investigator Yvonne Sloan was able to work out a resolution on a case where the claimant who is a African American man believed he was subjected to harassment, other terms and conditions and discharged based upon his race and sex. This case was resolved via a withdrawn adjusted in the amount of $3,500.
Investigator Kimberly Williams resolved a case where claimant alleged unequal treatment due to her sex (pregnancy). This case resolved via a withdrawn adjustment in the amount of $8,515.20.
Investigator Jeff Weiss had resolved the following two cases: Claimant who is a Black man, believed he was subject to harassment and forced to resign due to his race and sex. This case was resolved via a withdrawn adjustment for a $5,000 lump sum payment, along with a neutral letter of reference and an offer to rehire him.
Investigator Weiss also resolved a case as withdrawn adjusted for a claimant who alleged that she was discharged due to her sex (pregnancy) in the amount of $2,000.
Investigator Rachel Gaylord settled a case where the claimant who is of Honduran decent alleged he was denied hire due to his national origin. This case resolved via a cash settlement of $8,320.
Investigator Marcus Beene resolved a case for a claimant who alleged she was denied a reasonable accommodation due to her disability status and forced to take an unpaid leave. This case resolved with the claimant receiving $82,700 in back wages.
Investigator Kenya Cooper resolved a housing case where the claimant, who is African American, believed she was subjected to unlawful discrimination based upon her race. This case resolved where the respondent signed an agreement to refrain from encroaching on the claimant's property without permission by the Claimant. Claimant also requested a reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal and alleged she was denied based upon her disability status. The respondent agreed to refrain from charging extra deposits, or fees to the claimant for her assistance animal and will grant approval for the assistance animal. Respondent agreed to immediately cease and desist from enforcing and utilizing any policies, practices and/or documents and forms that contain language prohibited by the Fair Housing Act and/or Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, including language relating to mitigating measures, as well as intrusive questions about a tenant's treatment plan, medication or detailed medical history. Respondent also agreed to attend fair housing training with an emphasis on disability and reasonable accommodations.
From Marlene Cain:
I also wanted to add a list of those who over exceeded their case closure expectations from the period of June 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021. We had 53% of the staff that over-exceeded their case closure expectations and we wanted to recognize and thank the following staff members:
From the Sonya Hakim Team:
From the Demetrius Hunter Team:
From the Sonya Merriweather Team:
From the Keesha Garrett Team:
From the LaShea Sharp Team:
The below staff assisted Enforcement with completing EEOC cases and did above and beyond:
From the MDCR Chief Deputy Director:
I see you. You went above and beyond your case expectations. You are doing a great job contributing your talents and skills to the MDCR Team. I'm looking forward to seeing the direction in which you are going to take in your career with MDCR. You are truly committed to public service.
Sincerely,
Kim
